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Zed counters Kassadin early-game with nice harass with his shadows and shurikens that, since he is a full AD champion, ignores your Q shield. Play safe and dodge his skillshots, which is easier to do than with other champions since Kassadin cannot be creep-blocked. Try not to get low-health in the laning phase since he might dive you under tower once he gets his ult. Late-game he usually wins fights with his shadows and using his ult to dodge your damage, so stay safe and try to target other members of his team instead to get fed.
Yasuo
Yasuo is an mostly AD champ that uses his Q to harass, meaning that your Q shield is useless against it. His passive shield means that he can ignore some of the damage you try to give him, plus his W makes a shield that destroys projectiles, negating your Q and E. Late game you can outscale him and burst him down easily enough, and usually your Q travels fast enough that most Yasuo players put up their Windwall too late. You can dodge his knock-up with your ult and you can use it to retaliate by blinking through his tornado and bursting him, or simply to retreat and blink to safety.
Annie
You can negate her damage with your Q and retaliate with your own spells. Be careful if she has stun and ult as she dismember you with Tibbers if she lands it. Dodge her W and ult with your own ult as this will make her waste her stun, and put two of her damaging abilities on cooldown, giving you either a kill, make her flash, or win the trade.
Lux
Dodging her skillshots are easier because of your passive, and negate her damage with Q. Once you have ult, you can burst her down by blinking through her skillshots and doing your E-Q-W combo. Dodge her snare instead of her slow so as you are not an easy target if she decides to ult you. Be wary of enemy ganks though since she can lock you down early-game, making you an easy target.
LeBlanc
As with most enemy AP laners, negate her damage with your Q. Once she dashes to you, Q first for the shield, then E-W to chunk her. In-lane she usually initiates fights so always have Q up. Once you have ult fighting her becomes easier since you can dodge her chains and dash by blinking through or away from them. The only minor problem is when her clone appears because you might get confused and miss a kill opportunity. She hurts a bit more now due to her new passive, but Leblanc players who want to fully utilize this passive wait for the mark to fill up before triggering it, slowing down her burst. This gives you a bit more time to figure out what to do, either fight or flight.
Azir
Azir hurts with his zoning abilities and sustained damage. Early-game against him is hard as getting near him to use your abilities in retaliation is nearly impossible with his soldiers in the way. Remember that your Q shield also goes up if you target a minion, so if you need the shield just hit a minion if you cannot hit Azir himself. Once you have ult try to bait out his Q and ult and blink either away or through them. Blink away if you want to play defensively and dodge his Q and ult, or blink through if you want to try to burst him down. Be careful with bursting him down though, as most Azir players I have faced bring Barrier as a summoner spell, and might turn the tables of the fight with it.
Ahri
Ahri has good poke with her Q and basic attacks, so as always try to negate her magic damage with Q shield. If she lands charm on you do not worry too much if you have your Q shield since the damage of her combo will be reduced, and her Charm will bring you in-range to hit your E and possibly your W to retaliate and possibly win the trade.
Fizz
Fizz hurts with his damage-over-time W and his trollpole Playful/Trickster. Fizz players tend to be aggressive and initiate with his E, making him untargetable. Wait for him to get out of his untargetable state and hit Q for the shield, then E-W as standard. Once you have ult, try to dodge his shark as much as possible by blinking away or through it, and burst him if you want to go aggro.
Katarina
Katarina is a bit harder to duel now pre-6 due to her rework. Just keep farming until you hit 6, then you have the option to all-in her. When fighting her, try to save Q to cancel her ult, and use your ult to keep away from her daggers, as when she picks them up she does AOE damage
Ekko
You usually win duels pre-6 because of your Q shield, just be careful to dodge his Q return or his slow/stun zone. If you see him throw out his W in-lane, stay away as he will probably engage you with E after. If he misses with W but still goes in with E, just hit him with the E-Q-W combo and you win the trade most of the time. Be careful when you fight him post-6 as his ult hurts like a truck and can turn the tide of a duel.
Kassadin
A mirror-match with another Kassadin is rare, as Kassadin not very popular these days compared to other midlaners. Nevertheless, it happens, and when it does the winner is decided by pure skill. I usually go aggressive in these match-ups by throwing Q out first before he does, so I have my shield before he has his, maybe even getting more damage in. Post-6 duels are tricky, since you both have a blink. Late-game the winner is usually decided by items, reaction time, and pure skill.
Zyra
Zyra. Freakin Zyra. Early game is a pain as she can harrass you with plants and ranged AAs. Post-6 you can burst her down easily enough, but I don't recommend dueling her unless you have flash, or until you are at least level 11, with your ult on a 3-4 sec cooldown, since you need to dodge her snare, stay away from the plants, and most of all her AOE ult. Not an easy lane.
Akali
Early-game is pretty easy, negate her Q with yours. Pre-6 trades are a bit tricky, with her W shroud hiding her from you. If she does engage with W, try to get out of the shroud, and when she reveals herself hit her with an E and a Q (if you're fast enough). Post-6 you can win trades if you're smart, since now you have 2 AOE abilities to hit her if she's inside the shroud. Be careful though if she's winning post-6, as Akali is one of the few champs who can match Kassadin's mobility.
Diana
This match-up is a bit tricky, since you both have shields, good harass, and great mobility. Early-game negate her Q with yours, and always keep your E ready for any pre-6 duel with her. Post-6 you can use your ult to burst her, or dodge her E pull. Be careful though as she can match your mobility if she hits a Q on you, as the mark left can be consumed by her ult, thus resetting its cooldown.
Ryze
Don't even try to fight him pre-6, as he can dish out more damage than you thanks to his Q resetting per other ability cast. He has a better shield than you, plus another shield with Archangel Staff, and can lock you down with a snare, making you a sitting duck. In lane just farm up, stay safe, and ask for a gank from your jungler if you wanna kill him. Post-6 roam and help other lanes rather than try to fight him.
Nidalee
Nidalee mid is kinda hard to fight early due to her being ranged and her spear hurts like hell the farther it travels, meaning that dodging it is a TOP PRIORITY. Relax and farm pre-6 and try to avoid dueling with her pre-6, especially if you have the prowl debuff. Once you get riftwalk you could try to burst her down, just make sure you dodge her spear
Cho'Gath
Cho'gath is fairly easy to fight because his skills are easy enough to dodge, but when they do hit they hurt. Try to get a lead on him, especially post-6 because if you allow him to stack his ult he'll get tankier, while still being able to do damage.
Galio
Reworked Galio kind of works like you now. He is also an anti-mage AP user, the difference being he gets tankier late game, while you hit harder but die faster. He does magic damage with abilities, so use Q to negate some of his damage, then trade as usual. Post-6 you should win duels since your ult is primarily for single combat, while his requires another champion on his team so that he can fly to said champion. Be wary of ganks though since he can ult his jungler, putting you in danger of a long knock-up.
Hello everyone! I am An Actual Shark, call me Sharky, and this is my Kassadin Build Guide! When I started League, Kassadin was one of the first champions I ever played, and I got hooked instantly. It takes some getting used to his fast playstyle, but once you get the hang of it, you can carry games with his insane damage and low cooldowns.
Pros and Cons
Pros and Cons
Pros -High Mobility -Great against AP champions -Great at dueling 1v1 -Ok early-game -Devastating late-game
Cons -Weak against AD champions, especially during early-game -Squishy -Hard to escape crowd control without ult or flash -Hard to clear minion waves without wasting E -Melee AP carry, meaning can get poked by by ranged enemy laners, which include most AP opponents
Early-game (0-10 minutes)
Early-game (0-10 minutes)
At the start of the match, buy your starting items and head to lane. With the AP from Doran's Ring and my recommended runes, your Q should do enough damage to zone out your opponents. Zoning out your enemy laner is very important, since you need to get close to the minion wave to farm. Once you and your enemy laner hit level 3, you would most likely have all of your basic abilities ready, so always expect a trade. As much as possible, try not to use your Q and E to farm, especially E since you need 6 spells cast near you before you can use it again, and save them when your enemy initiates. If versus an AP laner, always play defensive and let them initiate first, so you can shield yourself with Q and then hit the rest of your abilities. Always be more careful against an enemy AD laner, since your shield and passive do not reduce their damage. Once you get your ult trading becomes a bit easier since you can blink either away or through their skillshots, letting you get to safety or burst them down, respectively. I always start Fiendish Codex now, since it builds into Morellonomicon or Zhonyas Hourglass. I now get Morello as my first item especially for the 20% cdr and the instant 100 AP, since ROA takes time to stack, and the tank stats do not really matter if the enemy can still burst you down, especially late game. Get Zhonya's Hourglass first, and Morello as a second item, if you're losing to bursty AD laners like Zed or Talon.
Mid-game (10-25 minutes)
Mid-game (10-25 minutes)
Once you have ult and Morellonomicon, buy boots and start looking for opportunities to gank. Kassadin has great mobility with his ult, and it makes ganking easier since it serves as his gap-closer. Gank top if your toplaner is getting stomped by an early-game champion like Riven or Yasuo. Gank bot so that your ADR has a better chance of killing his/her enemy laner, and subsequently getting more and more fed. Ganking also increases your gold income if you get the kill, either accidentally or on purpose. But always keep in mind that by ganking, you leave your lane vulnerable, so only gank if you're sure you can, without endangering your turret. Once you have enough gold, start building a Lich Bane, or a Zhonya's Hourglass, depending on the situation. I personally go Lich Bane first for better kill potential, but I get Zhonya's if I'm against a Zed or I'm constantly getting ganked and crowd controlled. Once you have two main AP items for your build, upgrade your boots to Sorcerer's Shoes to give you Magic Penetration.
Late-game (25-__ minutes)
Late-game (25-__ minutes)
Having two core items, plus Sorcerer's Shoes, you should have enough damage to obliterate the enemy squishies. At this time, some towers are already destroyed, either yours or the enemy team's. If you're losing, I recommend getting more defensive items that increase your survivability, like Zhonya and Abyssal Mask. Otherwise, augment your damage even more with Rabadon's Deathcap as a third AP item. After that I get a Protobelt, since it works both offensively and defensively. It gives you health, which is valuable since you need to get into melee range to destroy opponents, more AP, and more mobility that can be utilized when your ult is on cooldown. Lastly, get a Luden's Echo or a Void Staff, depending on your preference.
Trading, Dueling and Teamfighting
Trading, Dueling and Teamfighting
When dueling, first consider if the champion is AP or AD. If the champion is AP, let them initiate so that you can put up your Q shield and let it absorb as much damage as possible, then use E and W. This usually assures that you win the trade/duel with more health, and the mana you lost using your abilities restored with your W. If the champion is AD, however, your Q shield and passive does not negate any of their damage, so play defensively and dodge their skillshots before doing your combo. Getting ult increases your chances of winning any trade/duel, because you can use it to instantly reposition yourself multiple times in the fight, either blinking away or through their skillshots. With some of their abilities on cooldown, you have a better chance of outdamaging them.
In teamfights, Kassadin works best by assassinating the squishy enemy backline by ulting to them and doing your E-Q-W combo. NEVER ULT INTO AN ENEMY TEAM IF YOUR TEAM DID NOT ENGAGE. Doing so would usually result in your instant demise, unless you manage to get out by flashing then ulting out. In the late-game your ult is most likely on a 2 second cooldown, so the best way to help during a teamfight is by jumping from one enemy squishy to the next, bursting them down with your low-cooldown combo. Always be on the move, repositioning with ult and flash (though try to save flash for escaping), because if you're locked down, you can count yourself dead already. Prioritize the ADC or APC, then any other squishy. Let your team handle the tanks and stick to your job, which is quick assassination, then either jumping out of the fight or picking another target to bury into the ground.
p.s. REMEMBER THAT HIS Q CANCELS CHANNELED ABILITIES
Ending
Ending
Thank you very much for reading my Kassadin Guide, and I hope that I helped you understand how to play and carry him. If you're having a hard time at first, don't worry I've been there. Practice makes perfect. Keep casting, fellow summoner!
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